The NFL has long dominated the American television landscape, but never more than in 2021.
NFL games were 75 of the 100 most-watched TV programs in 2021, according to Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal.
The Top 5 most-watched programs were the Super Bowl, NFC Championship, AFC Championship, Raiders-Cowboys Thanksgiving game and the Buccaneers-Saints NFC divisional round game.
Out of the Top 100, beyond the 75 that were NFL games, 11 were events from the Tokyo Olympics, seven were college football games and two were NCAA basketball games. The NBA, MLB and NHL did not put any games in the Top 100.
The only scripted program that made the Top 100 was the episode of The Equalizer that CBS aired immediately after the Super Bowl. Only four other non-sports programs made the Top 100: President Biden’s inauguration, President Biden’s April address to Congress, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.